Great Weekend!

My family came down this weekend and I had a lot of fun. For Christmas I got basketball tickets for my grandparents to see Nebraska vs. Texas Tech. They came down two years ago for this game as well, and I wanted to do this again for them because I know how much my grandma loves basketball. Mom decided this year she wanted to come too and it worked out perfect that it was a weekend game so she only had to take Friday off of work. I thought about getting Kansas tickets for them instead, but it was in the middle of the week and that just wouldn't have worked out as well. Friday night Mom took us, Drake, Teetz and Britt out to dinner as a late birthday dinner for me, since I wasn't home on my actual birthday. I know I have a lot of birthdays, but come on, how many princesses do you really know? I got to choose, so of course I picked Red Lobster, my most favorite restaurant of all. Then Teetz and I hung out at the hotel with my family for a while, then he left and I stayed with the fam. Saturday we all went to the game together, minus Drake, because he doesn't really dig Nebrasketball, then we went to Cracker Barrell afterward because it is tradition when my family is in town that we go there, so all of us, minus Britt this time, went out for dinner again. Mom took me to Wal-Mart for stuff I didn't completely and totally need, but it was fun nonetheless. I got a new carrying case for my scrapbook stuff and some seasonal paper and a new scissors. Yay. I know, I know, I should have had her buy me practical stuff, like food, but she did that too so it's all good. Teetz went out last night then, and I definitely didn't go because 1) my family was in town, duh, and 2) he was with Jake and Jake's girlfriend, who I really can't stand because she is so fake. Plus, I got to hang with the family and Teetz would be so proud of me because we watched some of the Olympics. I decided I want to do the ski jump thingy because I think it would be awesome. I'd probably fall though and end up breaking something, like my neck. Drake and I hung out there til late and talked for a while. Then this morning my family, Drake and I all met for breakfast and that was good too. All in all, it was a very good weekend, even though it is always tough when my family leaves. But I'll hopefully be going home soon so I can see them and Holden and Nicholas too.

I Have The Best Friends Ever

Friday night was amazing. Aside from a questionable ending, which has now been resolved on both fronts, the night was probably one of the best birthday events I have ever had. At first I wasn't sure how the evening would go, because we went to Sandy's first, which is definitely my favorite bar in Lincoln (although Woody's, Duffy's, and The Spigot are all near and dear to my heart). We were at Sandy's the entire evening because people just kept showing up, and it was a blast. I never had fewer than three drinks in front of me at a time, also adding to the fun. Initially we got there and there was actually a line to get into Sandy's something I have never seen in my two years of bar-hopping. Every where else was DEAD, but no, Sandy's had to have a line. By the time Drake, Teetz, Britt, Jason, Melissa, Adam (Sinley, not Dack), and I got inside, Bailie, Silas, and Mike already had a booth. We pulled up as many chairs as we could fine, squished six people in the booth, then watched for the one to open up behind us - thank goodness it did. Poor Kayleen, she had to wait outside for ten minutes because it was a one-in, one-out situation! That has never happened at Sandy's in the last two years, I swear. But she, JohnRoss, Susan, Amanda, Ben, Ashley, and all sorts of people came and went, and I got to see April for the first time in ages. Random other people we knew were also at the bar, so that was a lot of fun too. I posted all the pictures on Facebook for you to see, if you have access. I blocked the albums so they are only visible to friends, because I don't want nasty Tundras looking at them and marring them. It was just a great night, I wasn't so bombed that I puked (good thing too - I have never ever gotten sick on any of my birthdays), and also, I got to lick one of Teetz's calves. Most of you probably already know that story, but I will tell it again. The long in the short of it: I was all sad and mopey and crying all the time for days on end right after Adam and I broke up (the first time). Teetz was good at handling emotion initially, but after about three days he didn't know what to do with me anymore, so he told me for my next birthday (that would have been my 22nd) that I could lick one of his wonderfully muscular and amazing calves. Well, that birthday came and went and he totally backed out on me. I swore one day I would get him, and finally on his 21st birthday (last June) I got to lick both of them. Well, lucky me, I got to again on Friday, just one though. I know most of you are probably thinking "Eww", but trust me on this. Take one look at those calves and you'll want to lick them too. We used to play tennis and I told him to put his calves away (meaning wear pants instead of shorts) so I wouldn't get distracted and he said the only way he'd do that was if I put my ass away. Well, pants or shorts, this ass isn't going anywhere, so we were at a stalemate. Then I started hitting the tennis balls over the fence on purpose just to get back at him, so we all won in the end. Kind of.

Anyway, I am off to shower and clean up my room, I just got done with work and then I will hopefully spend a little quiet time with Drake once he is done with rounds. We might have to watch Wedding Crashers again, who knows.

Days til my birthday: ONE!!!!!!

BIRTHDAY!!!! Almost

Okay, so it is not actually my birthday yet, but tonight we're going out to celebrate and I am super excited because everyone is going to be there - Britt, Teetz, Drake, Kayleen, JohnRoss, Bailie, the list goes on and on. Silas and Mike might even be coming down, though it is not confirmed, as Silas has something for work to do tomorrow, but we will see. He hasn't missed the last two birthdays, so he said he would definitely want to come to this one. There are even a few on the guest list who we are questioning whether or not they will show, but we'll see. Either way, it'll make for an interesting evening. Now, I know not everyone will show up at the same time and that's fine, but as long as I get to see everyone who matters and there is no drama, it will be great. I am sure many of you recall (having either seen it firsthand or heard it secondhand) last year's dramatic beginning: Crazy Rachel flipped out because Silas was there and screamed at me at Woody's. I am not even sure if Crazy Rachel is still in Lincoln, and either way she is not invited since I haven't spoken to her in months, so that won't be a problem. All the other crazies in my life have been phased out, thank goodness, so all we're left with are the nice normal fun friends who have been with me through thick and thin - no bail-ers allowed.

We're going to Sandy's first, because it's my favorite bar, though Woody's and Duffy's are right up there as well. The Spigot has become our final stop for some reason, I am not sure why. I love that place though and it's usually not as crowded, especially near last call, because it is farther down O Street and it's difficult for really drunk people to walk that far. One of the bartenders from The Spigot makes this really good drink called Salty Nuts, and it kind of looks like Pepto Bismol...which by the way is such a funny name and even funnier if you say it five times fast...but it is one of my favorite drinks. If you don't like milk or cream with your alcohol though, then this drink is not for you (TEETZ!) because there's a fair amount in it. Very good though, except only one of the guys knows how to make it and that makes me sad. Last time, when Teetz, Britt, Amanda and I went there, near last call we were just having the bartenders throw random shit together and we'd try it, there was one that was really good at first, but the after taste was seriously like one of those evergreen car ait fresheners. Yuck. All in all though, The Spigot bartenders are very adventurous and will come up with some crazy concoctions, just ask. And be hott too, that helps. I guess that's also why I like Duffy's a lot. Drake pointed out on Drunk Monday that Duffy's prides itself on it's mixed drinks, which is true, look at the sizes of them! (aside from the fishbowls of course, those are just huge anyway). But even the shots are huge, unlike Brothers, which is such a fucking joke. I hate that place, I refuse to go there at all. It's a huge frat party, and I am definitely over going to those - though Rugby house, Blue Heaven, and 33rd and Orchard provided many great memories for my underage drinking career.

I have to work at five, boooo. But Steve is MOD tonight, so I am hoping that he will be in the best mood possible (meaning he doesn't have to deal with stupid people or questions) and we will get out of there at 9:01. If Shaun is working, this probably won't happen, because he never knows when to stop once a customer is no longer interested. On Wednesday night he was talking to some guy for over an hour, and the guy still left ten minutes after we'd closed, having purchased NOTHING. Ugh, it is horrible working with some people, so I am bossy to them and they leave me alone and don't ask me stupid questions because they are scared. It works out nicely.

I am still looking forward to moving out of this stupid apartment in April, but a good amount of the tension existing prior to last week is slowly fading away. It helps that Bryan and I are speaking again, something we haven't done for about five months now. He and I are very up and down, we will get mad and be annoyed at each other for a few months/weeks/days whatever, then out of the blue start being nice to each other again until the next things happens. Maybe this time things will stay on the up-and-up a little longer because I enjoy my big comfy bed and like sleeping in it, as opposed to sleeping on my futon in Cather. We have to sleep on that because the mattress on the Cather bed hurts Drake's back - unfortunately the futon hurts my back, so usually I end up sleeping there and Drake gets the bumpy futon to himself. I think it also helps that I don't have to be awake so fucking early anymore, pretty much I don't have to get up before noon (except on Tuesdays, when I will have to wake up at seven for work) so noise doesn't bother me anymore because I am not trying to go to sleep with all the stupid video game racket. That's not to say others in this apartment don't have to get up earlier than me, but one inconsiderate favor deserves another. Invest in earplugs. Not my problem anymore.

And thanks JohnRoss for the wedding dance info. That's a lot of partner changing, from the parents and the kids dancing to the wedding party and blah blah. Luckily, (and unlucky in some sense) my bridal party is a bit smaller than I first thought it would be. I originally intended to have a maid of honor and then five bridesmaids, but of course crazy people don't belong in my wedding (and since we're not friends anymore it makes sense she wouldn't be involved, but we already covered that in my birthday talk, so moving on...) so that has contributed to the smaller number of bridesmaids. Plus, it won't be as expensive having a small wedding party, because that includes cost of transportation, gifts, food, etc. I don't even know why I am talking about this, it's not going to happen for at least another year and a half, but I am a girl and this has pretty much been planned out since I was about five years old. Think: Monica, on 'Friends', except I am not quite up to her level of craziness. I will probably trip and fall much like she did the morning she woke up and came running out of her room shouting "I'm getting married today!" but I am not nearly as neurotic as she is. Still, I have my people and my colors and the fun stuff picked out. Now I just need to find the money to pay for it! I was reading either Glamour or Cosmo the other day and they did a few articles on weddings and this one couple spent $400,000 on theirs! That's crazy! The girl was like, I'm an only child and a daddy's girl, so he went all out. Well, I too am an only-child and a grandpa's girl through and through, but never in a million years would I expect anyone in my family to fork over $400,000 for MY wedding. Yes, financial help would be greatly appreciated, but there is no way I would ever feel right about taking that amount of money and spending it on myself (well, and Drake too since it would be his wedding too) unless it was money I earned myself. Also in which case, if it was money I earned myself, at least half of it would be spent at Louis Vuitton. I MUST have this one trunk I found, it is absolutely gorgeous. Then of course I would have to spend the other half on a vacation just so I could use the trunk, but anyway...

Yes, now off to shower and slowly but surely start getting ready for work. Only a few more hours and we'll be able to party hard! In the immortal words of Sherry Moon as Baby Firefly in "House of 1000 Corpses" (and also Silas and Adam, since) "We like to get fucked up and do fucked up shit!" Okay, maybe not exactly, but we're going to drink and laugh and play pool and foosball and have fun and relax. I love my friends.

Hours til my bar birthday: 7 hours and 49 minutes!!!!!

Adventures In (And Around) Lincoln

(No spellchecker, I am on Drake's computer)

Okay, so if someone had told me yesterday at 3 pm that at 10:30 pm Britt, Teetz, and I would be driving around aimlessly witha 6-pack of High Life (bottled only, I can not drink Miller High Life from a can - it tastes different), I would have wondered what the heck you were on. But that's exactly how the evening played out.

First things first, Teetz and I started watching FRIENDS (along with playing our drinking game). He's been sick and wasn't up for alcohol yet, which was good because we had a chance to test how well we could keep up with the rules sober by using Kool-Aid. It was tough sober and had we been using alcohol, we would have been hammered after only two episodes. It was great. Anyway, we decided watching two episodes was enough, that we would continue another time, but it was only nine and we didn't want to end the evening quite yet. I had to leave however, because his devil cat Tuffy (who's name is really Muffy but I have since rechristened upon meeting) was making my allergies go nuts. We thought about bowling on East Campus, and called Britt, but I also wanted chicken from KFC for some reason, so we're driving all around Lincoln, we get the chicken and are heading to East Campus just to see if the place is open. We doubted it, and we were right, but sometimes you can have the best time driving around with your two best friends, not really having a destination at all. Oh, but we would have one soon enough. Sort of.

Being the big city girl that I am, I have never partaken in this rite of passage known as drinking out on some back country road. While neither Teetz nor Britt are from small town, they both have enjoyed said experience, so that's what led us to the Super Saver on 56th for a sixer of High Life. We weren't looking to get drunk, just to do something different than we usually do. Boy, did we.

You miht think it is easy to find a gravel road outside Lincoln that is someone secluded enough so that the farmers will not see you invading their field to drink a few beers. Apparently, that is not the case. While passing several prime location, Teetz manages to stumble right upon a town - Roca, to be exact. (On a side note, this place has a very fun haunted hayrack ride/haunted house, etc. My junior year the sorority had a date dash, and we ended up going to the Roca Berry Farm that has all the fun Halloween stuff every year. It was good, and moreso it was scary because just a few days prior, Adam and I had gone to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre, then while on the hayrack ride, this guy comes out of the woods with a chainsaw and who's the first person he comes after? Moi, of course. It scared the crap out of me - even though Michael Myers is still the scariest psychopath of all time, but more on that arguement at a later time, Freddy and Jason got NOTHING on Michael Myers!) Anyway, yes, you would think a random field/dirt road would be easy enough to find in fucking Nebraska, but no, we find a whole damn town. Granted, it's Roca, which doesn't have that many people anyway, but still. So we keep driving and end up on hi-way 33 where we finally find this perfect spot - except right across the road is the house where the farmer lives who presumably owns this land. Plus, we were off a main road that was by no mean busy, but there were definitely more than a few cars passing by.

Don't worry, we found our spot eventually, and it really is perfect and we got out of the car and stood around just drinking and talking, though I kept freaking Teetz out with references to the movie Jeepers Creepers, which in turn freaked myself out becuase who has never had their eyes play tricks on them in the dark? It looked like two figures were standing on top of the hill looking down at us, and it freaked me out, but it was fun. But it was also getting chilly, so eventually we got back in the car and drove back to Lincoln. It was a lot of fun, and even though this little adventure might sound dumb to some of you, this is exactly the ind of stuff I was talking about a few posts back, when Britt and I used to just go and do whatever and we didn't really think about it or the future, or what other people thought. I am glad we have broadened Teetz's horizons by including him in random escapades. It's god for him. :)

Nothing much else going on worht nothing, exceopt Drake got back on Friday and we went to dinner and it was good and eveything is ten times stronger than it was when we parted for Christmas break. There was still a lo of stuff we had to talk about, and it is al out in the open now and I think we both feel a lot better. Yay. I missed him a lot. Plus, I'd rather be at Cather anyway, because we all know about that poor excuse for an aparentment that my stuff is currently being stored in.

Days til my bar night birthday: four! (boo, I have to work on Friday until 9:30, so we're going out at 10)

Days til my real birthday: eight!

Well, I Didn't Trip

It's over, finally. After four and a half years, I now hold a diploma from the University of Nebraska. It is an amazing feeling. At first I didn't think I would feel any differently, but I do. It is a Monday at 11:15, and I am doing...nothing. Wow. It also really hit me yesterday afternoon when Mom and I were driving around campus. She is putting together something for me for Christmas/graduation and needed some pictures, so she asked me what the things were that I truly wanted to remember from campus. We took pictures by Memorial, Teachers College, Mueller Tower, Burnett, Pound, Sandoz, and Devaney because those are the places that were significant - I honestly should have had a picture of Kauffman too! Anyway, it got to me then - I won't enter some of the buildings again because I have no reason to. I am a college graduate. It sounds funny to say, like I almost don't believe it has actually happened, but it was great!

The ceremony itself went a lot faster than I expected. We started at 9:30 and were done at 11:15. Hey, two days ago exactly, I was a college graduate! It is still sinking in, cut me some slack. I had a great graduation party (and no, it was not at the apartment, I said it was a GREAT party and we all know it would not have been fun had it been here, ha ha) at the hotel my family stayed at. A lot of friends stopped by and there are some fun pictures posted on Facebook so I am not going to bother putting them here when they are already elsewhere on the Internet. I got a lot of great gifts too, of course, but one of the best presents I never expected was nothing material at all. Drake, the family, and I were getting ready to leave Devaney after the ceremony and my phone starts ringing. I didn't recognize the number but answered anyway and didn't hear anyone on the other end. This person called back four times and I was getting annoyed because I thought someone was pranking me and finally I stayed on the line a little longer and after a delay I hear a voice say, "Don't hang up on me Sarah!" At first I didn't believe who it was, because come on, this guy couldn't remember an important date to save his life. Yet, no doubt, there's no way I would ever forget his voice. I asked anyway who it was, just out of disbelief, and sure enough, all the way from Ramadi, Iraq, Adam had called to congratulate me. Good timing too, but wow. It was one of the most thoughtful things he's ever done - amazing how he gets to be so thoughtful AFTER we break up. But it was good just to hear his voice again since I hadn't seen him for almost a year - it will actually be a whole year as of New year's Eve. We talked for about fifteen minutes and then he had to go, but he has Internet sometimes, so we will be able to talk on messenger. It was a great gift, definitely.

All around, the gifts were pretty awesome and JohnRoss and Amanda each brought me a 40 of King Cobra! Yes! Awesome. But everyone was really thoughtful and I have a ton of thank yous to start writing because it was quite possibly one of the greatest days of my life - I know I say that a lot, so I guess I am blessed enough to have a great life.

I am leaving for home sometime this week, not sure exactly when. It'll be nice to be home for a while, because let's face it, living in this apartment sucks. But hey, not much that can be done about it, because you can only make the same request so many times before you realize, as Britt put it, "People are too dumb to comprehend simple English". She is pretty great with words.

Speaking of Britt, after the graduation party that night a bunch of us went to see Wedding Crashers. It's not my favorite film by those guys, but I did like it, and it was funny. Like my mother, I am not a big Owen Wilson fan, I like Luke better, but unfortunately he was not in it. However, Will Ferrell was in it at the end and I didn't know it beforehand, so it made the movie that much better - and his character's name was Chaz, which made me laugh even more.

Speaking of Chaz, Teetz was not at my graduation party because he went home on Friday - he missed Cracker Barrell AND IHOP. He is going to be so sorry when he hears about that, because he loves those places and every time my family has been here, he and (usually) Britt have always come with us. On Friday though, Britt was also gone because she was in Kearney for UNK's graduation. She and Kellie (her sister) both got back in time on Saturday though for my party, and they went with Bailie and I to see the movie.

That's about all for now. It's nice to not have anything to do until I want to do something - this feeling is great. I know it means loans will start soon, so I should probably talk to Bailie about consolidating...ick.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Today has been one of the best days of my life! It was also one I am very sentimental about, but I got some really good news as well, which of course I will share here shortly.

First, it was my last day at Belmont as I am sure you knew. Mrs. Rangel shooed me out of the room for most of the morning and had me go observe some other classrooms because she and the kids were finishing up my gift. After lunch we had our party - it was the sweetest thing ever. First, they gave me a book they'd put together, it had all their individual school pictures on different flowers and said "Miss M Helped Us Grow" and then they each wrote about something we did in the classroom this semester. Then Mrs. Rangel presented me with a bag - it was adorable! It had each of their handprints on it, with their names and a heart. Inside the bag were nineteen different gifts, each from one of the students. Mrs. R had actually gotten the gifts, but each child had chosen which one they wanted to wrap and put in the bag. it was adorable. Then we had cake and cookies and punch and it was a great afternoon. Of course there were tons of hugs too, I really am going to miss these guys, I got a little teary when I was opening their gifts. I promised I would go back and visit though, and I am making them thank-yous, because all kids love to get mail, especially addressed directly to them.

This had been a great day for another reason: I went in to pay my $300+ school bill, and found out it was already paid! I was very excited about this, more money for the bars tonight! Just kidding, but really, there was a bit of confusion because they'd taken money from one of my loans to pay this bill, but I didn't know that. I got my reimbursement, then got a bill notice after the fact, so I thought I still had a balance. Thank goodness, that's 300 more dollars I can save to move out. Whew.

Also on another happy note: I am getting Grandma tickets to a Husker basketball game for Christmas. Last year she and Grandpa came for the Texas Tech game (BOBBY KNIGHT, WOOHOO!) and I am going to again this year. Regardless of Kansas sucking ass this year, it is still a big game, so while I am still a student, I am going to buy the tickets at student prices. I better get that done now though before I forget and end up paying regular price - yuck. That's one reason I am glad N Cards don't change very often - in the spring I will still be able to get into Husker baseball games free, unless they start charging now, which would suck. I love Husker baseball....Jesse Boyer...drool....

Okay, back.

This weekend is going to be so much fun, I can't wait to see my family, even though I am going to get to see them again a few days later, but this is different, I am graduating. You don't realize how powerful that statement is until you are completely done with everything. I am graduating from college. Wow. I didn't think it was such a big deal before and Teetz and I have talked about this a lot, but yeah, graduation, wow...

Britt is dragging my ass out to the bars tonight, and by dragging I mean I am going whole-heartedly. I haven't been out on a Thursday in I don't know how long, because of getting up early for student teaching. Tonight we're going to go out and have a good time and everyone better be there - even Teetz and Kayleen might show up for five minutes after their cram session for one of their met classes. Teetz is almost a guarantee, just say the word 'alcohol' and he's there. Britt, Drake, etc...the usual suspects, will all be around, and JOHNROSS, if you read this you better show up! I should just call him now because he probably won't read this in time...

Anyway.

That is all for now, I am off to work on my thank-yous for my babies. I miss them already.

Days til graduation: ONE!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited I might pee my pants. Hopefully Shona and I don't trip while we're walking.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

Memory Lane

Drake's computer won't let me use spellcheck. Grrr. I hate typos.

I am feeling more and more nostalgic as the semester goes on, as proven tonight. Britt and Teetz and I went bowling on East Campus like we used and I have not had this much fun in a long time. We ended up playing three games so we each had the chance to win, and of course we each did win again. Teetz fell down once, but I missed it, shoot. Then we each tried bowling with our opposite hand just because we're fun like that. Britt wasn't having much luck, and knowing she writes left-handed I told her to bwl with her right. She just kind of looked at me and said, "I do bowl with my right". Wow, in all our years of friendship, I have never noticed she bowls right-handed. I think because righties are so much more commong than lefties, I took it for granted watching her bowl because that's what I was used to seeing from everyone else. Weird.

After we left East Campus, Britt jokingly said, "Let's go hit up a Pike Party" and we decided we needed a trip down Memory Lane to look back on all the awesome parties from our Sophomore year. We showed Teetz all the best places we partied, and talked about the time some of the Pikes had a Beer Die tourney, set up much in the fashion of the March Madness tourney. Rounds 1 and 2 were at Blue Heaven, then because everyone was still sober enough to drive, we all headed over to 33rd and Orchard for the "Sweet 16" and "Elite 8". By the time these rounds were done though, driving was out of the question so slowly but surely, everyone would make their way to the "Final 4" and championship game at Rugby House. I miss those days, though I definitely do not miss all of those guys. I have a lot of good memories from this time, though there are a few bad ones as well, and through thick and thin, Britt has been through it all with me, and I don't know what I would do without her. Who else would wait for me when I sat down in the middle of the road walking from 33rd and Orchard all the way back to Kauffman our sophomore year on Good Friday? I don't remember doing this, but apparently it happened. We were both a tad intoxicated, but were supposed leave for Grand Island the next morning at like 10 so we could be with her family Easter Weekend. I don't think either of us even rolled out of bed until 1 pm. I just remember her caling me around that time, asking if I was ready, though she wasn't either. Her mom had called a couple times looking for us, but it was probably almost four by the time we got there. Ah, memories.

Teetz's date went good, but he says I can't meet her yet because I intimidate him, so I will most definitely intimidate her. Good, girls need to be intimidated so I can see if they are actually good enough for him. But this one might be, we shall have to see.

The Best Thing About Being A Teacher

BOOKORDERS!!!

I know I said I liked them before, but the first order actually came in today and wow, I think I have died and gone to Heaven. I have a lot of books geared toward the younger kids of course because being in a Kindergarten classroom, I am going to get Kindergarten-First grade books. However, even if I end up in a 3rd grade classroom, Drake and I will still have the smartest children ever for two reasons: 1) We are both extremely intelligent anyway and 2) They're going to be read to all the time. I have another bookorder that should be here late next week or early in the following week and I am super excited for that one too because I have a ton of great stories coming in that one.

The server went down tonight at work. However, this was due to a huge power outage and not just the fact that it is a shitty server. We had to by-pass the first log-in screen and let access exams through Explorer, thus we had to type in every single URL. It sucked. Because of this I managed to not get anything done in terms of school work and I am teaching a lesson tomorrow which my advisor wants a lesson plan for.

I love student teaching, and actual teaching aspect of it. The part that is pissing me off is this seminar bullshit we have to do once a month. Today I wasted time and gas (i.e. money) driving to my supervisor's house, only to have to leave before we really got to talk about anything, because I had to work. What is the point of going off-site when all four of us student teachers and our advisor were at Belmont? It was a total waste of time and I am quite irritated about it. We could have met in the library and then I could have actually been a part of what we were discussing, instead of wasting time driving 25 minutes to her house. I was there for about 10 minutes, which is such a waste. Yes, I am pissed.

Teetz and I are going to be starting our weekly SVU watching again. I love SVU and especially Detective Stabler. Yum. That's why Christopher Meloni is on my List. We didn't watch it together last night though because we were both sick and we both have a lot going on this week. He is looking at grad schools this weekend and has a monster test, plus I am going home this weekend and have a lot of lessons to get ready. Next week however, we will be pulling double duty and watching this week's and next week's. I am psyched. Going to The Lounge just isn't the same, although JohnRoss and I did go last night so it was kind of like old times. Though I will never miss living in the dorms ever because the dorms suck, I will miss hanging out with Teetz until random hours and falling asleep in his room, which happened quite often despite him yelling at me to wake up all the time. I think JohnRoss might join us this year for SVU. I know this is Christopher Meloni's last season and that makes me sad, he is the best thing about the show, although Olivia kicks ass. I think she is one of the few female television characters I have ever liked because she is tough without being a total Nazi. Plus, it was okay for her to be single and for once emphasis was not put on her relationship status as seems to happen on other shows. I do wish she could have had some love interest though, if only for the fact that the only one we ever really saw turned out to be a scumbag because he stole some of her police files (he was a newspaper reporter and was basically using her to get inside details on the investigation). If this is SVU's last season then I will be okay with Christopher leaving, obviously, because everyone will be leaving. If not though, and it is just him going, I am not sure I can continue to watch the show. The Elliot/Olivia dynamic works really well, though I am glad they are focusing more on other characters as well.

Drake and I are going home this weekend. We're leaving Friday when I am done at Belmont and going straight to Minnesota. We'll just hang out at my house that night because we will be getting in kind of late. Saturday we are going to the Renaissance Festival - it's the last weekend and I am glad I get to be home for it, I love going every year - and Grandpa is grilling that evening - steak of course! On Sunday Drake and I are going to the Vikings game against the Saints and then on to the whole point of going home for the weekend: Holden's 3rd birthday. Monday we will probably do breakfast with my grandparents and then head back to Nebraska. It will be busy but fun and I am super excited for Drake to finally meet my family because I met his ages ago it seems.

Halloween!!!!

In recent years I have always had my Halloween costume picked out at least a month in advance in order to secure proper attire, props, etc for the special occasion. I was starting to get nervous this year because I had no idea what I was going to be. My junior year of college I was Christina Aguilera a la her 'Dirrty' video, complete with the hat, black streaked hair (I know, can you believe I actually put PRODUCT in my hair??!!), the short skirt, the come-fuck-me boots, the works. It was hott. Then last year I was a Catholic School Girl. Unfortunately I ended up looking a lot like Britney Spears (before she went stupid and skanky), from her 'Baby, One More Time" video. But anyway, this year I have decided I will be....

...Regina George.

If you don't know who this character is, you are missing out on one of the greatest movies ever. "Mean Girls" is honestly one of my favorite movies of all time, I absolutely love it and Regina is awesome. At first I wasn't sure how I was going to present myself as her, and Drake put it bluntly when he said, "What, so you're just going to get out of bed?" in reference to my stunning personality which often mirrors Regina's. But alas, I have decided I will best be able to pull this off my finding a neck brace of some sort and wearing that in addition to the pink dress she wore in one of the final scenes. Now I know some of you might offer, but no thanks, I don't really need you to hit me with a bus. I don't think a neck brace will be too hard to find, and it will amuse me for the next month and a half, so I am excited I finally decided what I am going to be. None of this would have started so early had Drake not found his costume a week ago - he's going to be a Viking. He thought I should be a Viking wench so I can get his beer and carry a turkey leg around for him all night, but I declined the offer. I just have to find a really good blond wig because there is no way I am dying my hair, for two reasons:

1. My hair is gorgeous

2. Do you know how ridiculously long my hair is, thus do you know how many boxes of dye I would actually have to purchase?

I'm sure I can find a good wig somewhere, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I don't want the crappy Wal-Mart kind. That was my initial thought when I went as Christina, but you could see the netting where the wig was glued on and it looked lame and ratty and gross, so that's why we streaked my hair instead with the wash-out dye.

Anyway, that's enough for now, I am going to try to find a dress at least similar to what Regina wore, and hopefully not too expensive. With Fall Formals and Homecoming and things like that coming up, I'm sure some stores will have some sales so wish me luck :)

I Love My Friends

This past weekend was one of the best in a long time. Moose and Cody came from Omaha and Silas came from Grand Island, then John, Patti, Brittany, and myself all went Playmakers to see the Kris Lager Band, and Kris totally hit on me by the way, but I think I made it pretty obvious I was not interested in the way I grabbed Drake by the shirt and pulled him next to me while we spoke. I had so much fun, I miss these guys, and it sucks that Silas is in Grand Island. The evening was a little weird at first but I didn't say anything of course - it was just weird having everyone together except Adam, even though Silas did say something at Jimmy Aces how it had been a long time since we were all together like that. Drake fit in very nicely, which was good. I knew it would be kind of weird for the guys to see me with someone knew, since Adam is the only person they have ever known me with. But they all got along right away and were quoting Chappelle show together and being silly boys. By the end of the night when the show was ending, Moose, Silas and Drake were all by the stage with their pitchers of beer, drunkenly having a good time. That was important to me that this happen, because these guys mean the world to me and so does Drake and I want all my people to mesh. I know not all my people will mesh all the time, but this evening was particularly important and everyone was great. I wish we could have more nights like that one, because it was awesome.

Teetz comes back from Grand Forks tonight and I am going to pick him up at the airport. Oh, and speaking of Teetz, WE ARE GOING TO SEE GAVIN DEGRAW AND HOWIE DAY IN FOUR FREAKING DAYS!!!!!!!